


(not) Expecting

by LesbianDragon_LD



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Edeleth, F/F, Misunderstandings, Oblivious My Unit | Byleth, Teacher-Student Relationship, a minor case of angst on El's side but she gets over it, drunk byleth, edelgard is crushing hard on byleth, everyone thinking byleth is pregnant, gay panic edelgard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-10-28 11:03:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20777513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LesbianDragon_LD/pseuds/LesbianDragon_LD
Summary: Out of boredom, Sothis convinces Byleth to chat with Manuela and get drunk. When Byleth accidentally mentions having a child inside her, it leads Manuela to assume something else.Manuela was the only witness, so naturally the day after the whole monastery knew.Byleth is oblivious to the rumor and doesn't understand why everyone is so concerned for her, and she definitely doesn't understand why Edelgard is acting so weird.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure why I feel like writing fics involving Sothis lately but here we are.  
Byleth isn't a big doofus, she just has a hard time understanding people I swear.  
El gets angsty when she thinks Byleth has a lover tho, but also El is a big gay panicTM who jumps at any opportunity in confessing her love for her crush 'single mom' and her non-existing baby. Sorry but I don't make the rules.

The library was quiet that afternoon. Byleth was alone there, sitting on one of the desks as she read a book on the history of Fódlan. Her companion inside her head, Sothis, lazily floated around bored beyond belief.

“Come ooon…” the green haired girl begged once more, but Byleth shook her head.

“Seteth says I need to be better informed about history and culture. I have to study so I can help students-“ Byleth started, but the girl interrupted.

“Your job is to teach them to fight! Not to lecture them on a subject they are far more advanced in than you are! Besides this is so boring! I’d give anything for something to happen-“

Before the green haired girl could finish her sentence, they both heard steps approaching the door. Suddenly, Manuela appeared, peeking inside the library with a cup in her hand.

“Oh! Byleth!” the older woman happily exclaimed, “I knew I sensed someone in her! But what are doing here all alone, dear?”

“I’m studying Fódlan history…” Byleth explained as Manuela approached, the older woman glancing over to better see the books that surrounded Byleth. 

“This is heavy stuff…are you not bored?” she asked Byleth, prompting a laugh from Sothis that only Byleth could hear. Byleth shook her head, and Manuela sighed.

“Well, surely you can take a break?” Manuela continued, “I’ve been so bored in the infirmary, and I am so mad right now! I need to vent to someone what this knight just told me! Will you join me for a drink so I can tell you all about this jerk?”

Byleth was ready to tell her she was too busy trying to finish the book, but Sothis interrupted her thoughts before the words left Byleth’s mouth.

“Don’t you dare say no! This is way more entertaining than your book! Besides, you need to bond with your colleagues and leave a good impression on the people you work with!” Sothis protested, giving Byleth no choice but to say yes, unless she wished to be pestered by the green haired girl for days.

So, begrudgingly, Byleth accepted. She followed Manuela back to the infirmary, sitting down at a table with her as Manuela poured two glasses of wine.

“I assumed we were having tea…” Byleth innocently commented.

“Oh, sorry dear. But after what I’ve been through today, I’m afraid I need something stronger than tea. But come on, we’re both adults here. We deserve a little ambrosia from time to time, would you not agree?”

Byleth wanted to say she usually didn’t drink alcohol, but Sothis reminded she was an adult that was more than capable of handling it. Sothis protested that she wanted to have some fun, and that it was most rude to deny offers while being a guest. Stuck between the hypothetical wall and the sword, Byleth gave in. She didn’t want to offend Manuela, and she was tired of Sothis pestering her about how bored she was. After all, a drink couldn’t hurt, could it?  
So, as Manuela rambled about some knight who ditched her at the very last moment for no apparent reason, Byleth sipped on her drink. And Manuela poured some more as she kept talking. And Byleth drank it all, as to not seem rude. And so on, and so forth, until Byleth started to feel dizzy.

“…and then, I said, ‘if you can’t handle a little mess you should hire a maid instead of trying to woo a wife!’, and he looked at me absolutely disgusted as if I was the bad guy! But he’s gone now, and I’m just sad I didn’t tell him off more before he left. Anyway, darling, are you feeling well? You drank so much…”

“It’s okay, I-I’m not r-rude…” Byleth stuttered, drunk. Her face was red, and she had lost all ability to think straight. The words just left her mouth before she gave them any second thoughts.

“Oh my, I gave you too much! Here, let me help-“ Manuela told her as she got up to help Byleth stand, but the poor professor couldn’t even walk without falling down. She did her best to guide Byleth to one of the beds in the infirmary so she could sleep it off, hoping a good rest would sober her up.

“This is not good for the child” Byleth awkwardly laughed at her own joke, knowing Sothis would die mad about being called a kid.   
But Sothis was far more concerned with Byleth drunkenly spilling out too much information. She desperately tried to shush Byleth, but the drunken woman couldn’t even hear her as she laughed.

“W-what? What child?” Manuela inquired, as she laid Byleth down.

“Y-you know, the one i-inside me…” suddenly Byleth’s voice died out, as the young professor fell asleep.

Sothis cursed herself.  
Manuela stared for a moment, dumbfounded.

“HANNEMAN! HANNEMAN!” Manuela shouted as she ran down the hallway, desperately trying to find the older man.

Byleth woke up a very long time later.   
Her head was hurting, almost as if it had been split in half.  
She groaned, and suddenly, Sothis appeared in front of her.

“Nice job, idiot!”

Ouch. Sothis wasn’t usually so mean.

“What’s wrong?” Byleth asked, trying hard to ignore the pain.

But before Sothis could reply, Manuela and Hanneman entered the room. Both were extremely concerned, asking her how she felt. Manuela seemed so scared and remorseful, it was almost odd. After all, she had just given her a hangover, right? What were they so worked up about?

“You must rest, I’m so deeply sorry! Had I known of your condition-ouch!“ Manuela started, but Hanneman pinched her arm to stop her.

“Remember she told you that in private and when drunk!” he whispered to Manuela so Byleth couldn’t hear them, “she might not want everyone to know!”

“Right, right! Byleth, I’m so sorry, please rest up for the day. We’ll take some of your workload off your shoulders, and please don’t strain yourself. Do not battle for some time!” Manuela told Byleth, the younger woman still very much confused as to why they were treating a silly hangover so seriously but quickly shrugging it off. She did as she was told, and Hanneman helped her get back to her own room where she rested until morning. Sothis would have to wait, as Byleth’s head was killing her.  
When she woke up the next morning though, she was surprised to walk out and see everyone concerned and asking her if she needed help, and how she felt.  
It was odd, but she assumed people merely thought she had been injured instead of hung over. Perhaps that’s what Manuela told them as it was less shameful than having a bit too much to drink?  
She shrugged it off as that, and kept walking towards her classroom to teach for the day.

~.~.~.~

“Perhaps it was a joke? We weren’t there, we don’t know the context of it…” Linhardt tried to reason with Caspar.

“Pssh yeah, right. Since when does the professor joke? And much less about that!” Caspar interjected, as he sat beside him.

“Come on, Caspie, don’t be mean! Lin is right, we don’t know the context of it…she could have a strange sense of humor!” Dorothea added, as she approached their desk.

“But…she was drunk, right? It sounds more like a confession…”Ferdinand joined in as he approached the desk as well.

On the desk behind Linhardt’s and Caspar’s, Edelgard gritted her teeth.

“You are all being ridiculous. It’s but a silly rumor and I’m sure there’s an explanation for it” Edelgard declared, in a tone that suggested her classmates should end their conversation there.

Yet, out of the blue, the shy Bernadetta spoke from a corner of the classroom.

“I…I don’t think it’s a rumor…” she let out, and immediately regretted it when the eyes of all the classmates turned to her. The shy girl yelped, but Edelgard demanded she explained.

“I…I just heard the professor one time! She was alone in her room, talking to someone affectionately, but no one else was there! She said something like ‘you are a part of me’ or something like that! Plus, she eats so much, it’s like she eats for two!” the girl hurried in panic, as everyone listened.  
Everyone fell silent for a moment.

“In Brigid it is common for women to talk to the belly, as it is said babies hear. So they chant songs of the spirits…” Petra added, proving a point regarding Bernadetta’s argument.

“That’s true, the professor does eat too much…I once saw her eat four consecutive plates with different students!” Caspar added as well, adding fuel to the fire.

“Well, ironic you’re the one to point it out, Caspar. You eat too much yourself” Linhardt joked, causing Caspar to glare at him, “although, I agree with you there. For her size, she shouldn’t be able to eat that much…”

The students started to loudly discuss the topic at the same time, until Edelgard finally snapped.

“Enough! That’s enough!” Edelgard almost shouted, causing everyone to shush, “even if it’s true, it’s none of our business. The professor is the only one who should be concerned with this, and no one else should discuss this behind her back.”

With that, Edelgard went back to scribbling in her paper, pretending she was busy. Everyone fell silent again, this time with grim expressions on their faces. As much Edelgard tried to pretend not to care, everyone knew how she felt about Byleth, and no one dared to comment anymore on a subject that left Edelgard devastated.  
Hubert merely glared at the rest of the students, silently blaming them for upsetting Edelgard.  
Dorothea was the only one who dared to approach Edelgard, trying to comfort the soon to be empress.

“Edie, come on, they could be wrong-“ Dorothea started, but Edelgard couldn’t take it.

“I’m sorry, Dorothea. But I don’t want to talk about it anymore” Edelgard told her before getting up to leave, “I feel ill, I’m going to rest today.”

With that, she left the classroom.  
Dorothea tried to follow, but Hubert stopped her, telling her Edelgard needed to be alone.  
Byleth came in minutes later, apparently missing Edelgard on her way out as the first thing she asked was what had happened for her to miss class, as it was so unlike Edelgard.  
Hubert told her Edelgard was sick, and Byleth couldn’t help but wonder why her classroom was so grim during the lesson.

~.~.~.~

Byleth retired to her room at the end of the day, and Sothis was ready and waiting to talk to her.

“You really didn’t find today to be strange?” Sothis asked her, and Byleth cocked her head.

“Ugh! How can you be so dense?” Sothis protested, “really now, didn’t you find it odd how everyone asked you how you were doing?”

“They were just worried because of my hang over…”

“Really now? And what about Manuela congratulating you?”

“I guess she was proud I could drink so much…”

Sothis pinched the bridge of her nose.

“You’re unbelievable. How about everyone offering you more food? Seteth telling you that you were excused from battles for the next months? Lady Rhea assuring you that you could tell her any secret at all, when you were ready? Alois talking about his wife’s requests when she was pregnant with their child? Manuela offering you medical examinations?” 

Byleth thought for a minute.

“They were just being nice, I think” she innocently told Sothis, causing the green haired girl to facepalm so hard that the sound echoed through the whole room.

“You…you are infuriatingly oblivious! You can’t be real! I can’t even tell if this is all an elaborate joke because you honestly can’t be this dense!” Sothis protested, causing Byleth to ask her what she meant by that. Sothis sighed upon realizing it wasn’t a joke, and Byleth was serious. She decided to try one more time.

“Okay, then why do you think that the student crushing the hardest on you avoided you all day? Why do you think that Edelgard girl locked herself up on her room and refused to see you or talk to you when you brought her lunch? Does THAT ring a bell as to what you’ve said and how it was interpreted?” Sothis asked one final time, hoping that at least that would get Byleth’s gears to work and she’d finally connect all the dots.   
The professor suddenly paled, in awe, and Sothis thought that it was due to finally realizing everything.

“Edelgard…has a crush on me? That’s ridiculous!”

Sothis screamed in frustration, so loud that Byleth had to cover her ears.  
But before Sothis could present her with the obvious evidence, Byleth heard a knock on her door. She opened it, and surely enough, Edelgard was on the other side.

“Can I come in? Please? I wish to speak to you…” the younger woman pleaded, and Byleth had never seen her so sad.

“Yes, of course. Are you feeling better from your illness?” Byleth asked her as Edelgard stepped inside. Sothis was so incredibly done at this point that she gave up and disappeared, leaving Byleth to figure it out for herself as she merely watched.

“I wasn’t physically ill, my teacher, I lied…I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”

“Oh…it’s not like you to skip class like tha-“ Byleth started, only for Edelgard to interrupt her.

“My teacher, I know of your condition. I’m here to congratulate you and give you my blessings…not that you need them, but I found it to be the right thing to do. I truly wish you all the happiness in the world.”

Byleth was confused.

“My…my condition?”

“Please, my teacher…” Edelgard let out a sad laugh, “there’s no need to feign ignorance, truly. Everyone knows already. Whoever he is, he is extremely lucky to have yo-“

“He? Who is he?”

“T-the father of the child…” Edelgard explained, as confused as Byleth was, “do…do you not know who the father is…?”

Byleth scratched her head. What child? What father?

“N-no? I don’t think I do…?”

Edelgard gasped.

“M-my teacher! That is… I…”

Edelgard panicked. This was not what she had in mind. She never imagined Byleth would be one to sleep around…and then it hit her, that perhaps Byleth didn’t sleep around. Maybe the father had simply abandoned them and she was too ashamed to admit it…  
Edelgard cursed the man whose identity she wasn’t even aware of. What kind of horrid monster would do that to such a good woman like Byleth? But at least she could thank him for not stealing Byleth away from her, as now she had a chance.  
Edelgard made her decision on the spot, and gathered all her courage.  
Edelgard took Byleth’s hands in hers.

“My teacher! Whatever the case may be, he doesn’t deserve the blessing of a family! I swear on my life that I will protect you and your baby! I swear to cherish you if you will allow me! Stay with me and I will help you raise this child and I will love both of you with all my hear-“

Byleth interrupted her pretty speech.

“Edelgard, you think I’m pregnant?”

Edelgard blinked.

“You’re not…?”

“No.”

“But…Manuela said that you said you had a child inside you…”

Byleth’s eyes lit up as she finally realized what had happened.

“Oh…that’s how I refer to the Goddess inside my heart…”

“And…you talk to yourself, alone…”

“That just helps me organize my thoughts, and I talk to the Goddess like people who pray do…”

“And you eat for two…”

“Intensive training burns a lot of calories…”

Edelgard turned red, her mouth opening to form a quiet “oh” as she let go of Byleth’s hands.

“Oh! So that’s why everyone has been acting so kind towards me…” Byleth stated, so unfazed that Edelgard could merely stare at her, unable to say anything. Edelgard was now starting to panic at her accidental love confession, her embarrassment getting the best of her.

“Oh, Edelgard, thank you!” Byleth started, “I thought everyone was so odd, now I know why. Oh, and by the way, is it true that you have a crush on me- hey, Edelgard? Edelgard?” 

It was too late, Edelgard had already ran out the door, away from Byleth’s room at full speed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, here's Jeralt and edelteh resolve.  
The continuation is sappier, but I hope you guys like it!

As she reviewed the whole event in her head yet again, Edelgard screamed into her pillow for the third time. For the first time in her life, she felt like a gullible…no, a stupid teenager. There was literally no excuse for being such a fool.  
Another scream muffled by her pillow.

“Edie? Edie, please open the door…” she heard Dorothea’s concerned voice coming from the other side of her room’s door.

Edelgard didn’t want to open it, of course, but once the sound of incessant knocking became too annoying, she gave in. Tentatively, Edelgard opened the door just enough to peek outside. Her body was firmly pressed against it, ready to slam it on Dorothea’s face if the songstress tried to dare to barge in.

“What do you want, Dorothea?”

“Edie, please” Dorothea replied, “you screamed in frustration so much that everyone thought it was Bernie at first. We’re just worried, we just want to talk.”

“We?” Edelgard questioned.

“Oh, Hubie’s here with me as well, we-“

“That’s great. Then if you want to talk, talk to each other” Edelgard replied, before slamming shut the door.

She heard two voices protesting, one calling out “Edie!” as the second called out “my Lady!” before she heard Dorothea speak again.

“Edie, come on! We just want to help, we do not wish to pry and you know that! You know you can trust us to-“

Before Dorothea could finish her sentence, the door opened again, and both Dorothea and Hubert were greeted to a very tired and depressed Edelgard who invited them in. The two stepped inside and Edelgard peeked outside to make sure no one was overhearing them before closing the door again for good measure.

“My goodness, Edie, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so…not composed. If it’s about the professor being pregnant you know the rumors are just-“

Before Dorothea could finish, Edelgard interrupted her yet again.

“The professor isn’t pregnant.”

Dorothea and Hubert exchanged confused looks.

“Ah, Edie…I know you want to believe that but even so you have to consider the possibility that-“

Edelgard interrupted Dorothea yet again.  
“No, Dorothea, I spoke to professor Byleth. She isn’t pregnant.”

“But if that’s the case, my Lady, why are you so down?” Hubert asked, as confused as Dorothea was.

Edelgard sighed.

“Before she told me that, I…well, I confessed my love, swore to protect her and offered to raise her baby with her.”

Dorothea burst out in laughter, despite Hubert glaring at her as if he would kill her in her sleep for laughing at Edelgard. Yet deep down, he himself wanted to give an earful to Edelgard for how idiotically desperate her love confession had been. Edelgard merely pinched the bridge of her nose, instantly regretting telling them about the ordeal.

“I’m sorry Edie,” Dorothea spoke, once she had calmed down and her laughter was dying out “but you were just too straightforward! And with a professor, none the less! You barely even spoke to her regarding anything other than class assignments and missions! The poor professor must have been so scared!”

Edelgard turned red, and suddenly Dorothea fell quiet. Hubert stared at Edelgard intently as well, wondering if he’d have to murder professor Byleth that night.

“How exactly did the professor respond, my Lady?” Hubert tried to get it out of her when Edelgard didn’t tell more, merely standing there fixated, as if she was thinking hard about a subject.

“Actually, now that you mentioned it…she had no reaction. She found it funny that people assumed she was pregnant as it was only a misunderstanding of her words and she had no clue why people were treating her like this…but to my confession? She was unfazed, and asked me if it was true that I liked her…”

Edelgard’s voice fell silent again, and Hubert and Dorothea stood expectant.

“Well? What did you reply? Don’t leave us hanging now!” Dorothea almost demanded, completely invested in the drama as if it was a very good opera about oblivious lovers.

“Well, I…I ran away” Edelgard shamefully admitted, Dorothea sighing in disappointment as Hubert tried to evaluate the situation.

“Even if I do not approve of your desired suitor, my Lady, I wish to see you well and happy. You have to come forth with your feelings to resolve…well, forgive me the term, my Lady, but to resolve this childish tension. Be it to put them to rest and move forward or have them be returned and burst with joy.”

“You know, Edie, for once I agree with Hubie! No more running away, as it isn’t like you! Now, go on! Confess your true feelings and free your heart, as we will be supporting you and wishing you luck!”

Edelgard sighed again. They had a point. 

~.~.~.~

Jeralt stomped around, annoyed. He had just come back from a mission after a couple of days, and as soon as he stepped inside the monastery he had a huge crowd following him around.  
Yet when he asked what the commotion was about and why he was being followed, the students and staff merely pretended not to be following him while also pretending they had no idea of what he meant.  
That might’ve worked if he had only one or two stalkers, but for a huge crowd of them it was hard not to notice.  
Eventually he stopped walking, furious as he turned back to the crowd.

“Enough is enough! Is this some twisted joke? Someone will have to explain to me what is happening right now or I will chase you all down with a spear!”

Suddenly everyone in the crowd was trembling, yet no one had the courage to say a word.

“Oh for the love of-“ Jeralt protested, rolling his eyes, before a random voice amongst the crowd shouted: “PROFESSOR BYLETH IS PREGNANT!”

After a second of shock, Jeralt rushed back to Byleth’s quarters, not caring about the even bigger crowd now following him.  
As soon as he was at her door, he knocked and called out for her desperately, as everyone watched silently. Finally, Byleth opened the door.  
And as soon as she did so, Jeralt’s arms were around her.  
She was taken by surprise, but she slowly embraced her father back.  
Sothis wanted to remind Byleth that Jeralt was probably thinking she was pregnant as well, but upon seeing the rough mercenary hug his daughter so lovingly, she couldn’t bring herself to warn Byleth and potentially ruin the warm family moment.  
The crowd stood silent, everyone expecting Jeralt to lose his cool or awkwardly react to the news, baffled by what had truly unfolded instead.

“You should have told me you were…” Jeralt softly told her once he pulled away, but Byleth interrupted him.

“You think I’m pregnant too?” Byleth’s voice suddenly caught Sothis’s attention, the green haired girl surprised that Byleth understood it on her own this time. It seemed that no matter how dense she was with people in general, she could easily read her father.

“I’m sorry, dad. I’m not pregnant. It was a misunderstanding…” Byleth confessed, her eyes slowly darting to the floor in shame.

Her father, however, couldn’t help but smile in relief.

“No matter, either way, I’m always proud of you. I’m actually relieved even, as I’m not ready to be an old grandpa yet…Come on, let’s have some drinks, and you can tell me how you managed to fool the whole monastery…” Jeralt laughed, as he started walking off to the dining hall.

“Hey, it wasn’t on purpose!” Byleth protested, as she followed her father and ignored the huge crowd that stood there, awkwardly in awe upon hearing the news that the rumor was indeed just a rumor.

Sothis couldn’t resist darting out her tongue to the curious onlookers that couldn’t see her, muttering to herself that they were as dumb as they were desperate to stick their noses in other people’s business as she floated around Byleth.  
When the mercenary and his daughter arrived in the dining hall, the few people still around had their gazes fixated on them as they whispered amongst themselves.  
It wasn’t long before some people present in the previous crowd arrived, and started to spread the news. Just like that, the spark of curiosity seemed to die out, with a few phrases like “oh, I knew it was just a fake rumor!” being tossed around. And then, everyone was back to their own business, no longer caring anymore.  
Professor Byleth went from who-is-the-father-and-when-is-the-baby-being-born-and-what-will-you-do-after-the-birth to being the regular professor Byleth again.  
As Byleth sipped on her tea and Jeralt drank his beer, Byleth explained everything that had happened. She didn’t mention Edelgard, however, as Sothis advised her not to before she had the chance to tell.  
Jeralt laughed at the whole ordeal, as it was almost unbelievable.

“Can I…ask you a question?” Byleth shyly asked when she was done telling.

“Sure, kid!”

“If…if someone promises to look after your supposed child because they think you are pregnant, does that mean they love you?”

Jeralt seemed taken aback by this, and a bit angry even.

“Don’t tell me, you’re actually dating and the stupid bloke thought he had knocked you up?”

“No, nothing like that” Byleth confessed, and Jeralt immediately knew she was being honest “we’re not dating, and they never told me how they felt. It was actually quite odd…but it came from someone that is…”

Byleth struggled to find the right words.

“…a friend, I suppose” she finally managed to say “…a special friend, who thought I was left pregnant and abandoned, and promised to stay with me. They’re…someone I care about.”

Byleth could feel both Jeralt’s and Sothis’s eyes on her, and she suddenly felt a bit anxious. She couldn’t help rubbing her hands together, slightly nervous as she waited for her father’s input. Sothis was oddly silent as well, and Byleth felt observed.

“Well, that’s different. Definitely beats a stupid kid who thinks he accidentally got you pregnant, though. You almost had me hunting down a guy” Jeralt joked, “but in that context, to want to care for you and for a kid that isn’t theirs…I’d say that person cares deeply about you, if they’re not in love with you.”

Byleth scratched her head, not in confusion but in a feeling she wasn’t quite familiar with. It made her happy, in a strange way, and she wanted to goofly smile. She couldn’t place why though, maybe she was flattered Edelgard loved her? Or maybe she liked talking to Edelgard, and imagining a life with her by her side seemed better than being as alone as she often loved to be.  
Before Jeralt could comment any more though, Edelgard showed up at their table. She was a bit breathless but trying, and miserably failing, to hide it. It looked like she had ran a mile in desperation.

“Oh, professor, you’re here! Good evening, Sir Jeralt! I’m so sorry to interrupt you both, but I needed to talk to you in private. I looked for you on your room, and everywhere, but couldn’t find you. I didn’t imagine you’d be here with your father. Could you spare me a moment when you’re free again?”

“Actually, we were done here” Jeralt intervened, a smile on his face as he saw Byleth’s eyes light up when she saw Edelgard, and upon realizing what was going on, “I actually have some business to take care of, so I’ll leave you be.”

With that, Jeralt finished his drink and left, leaving behind a very awkward and embarrassed Edelgard and a Byleth who was almost equally a mess of emotions. Edelgard opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her. She tried to avoid Byleth’s gaze by looking around, and spotted all the students from her class peeking through one of the dining hall’s doors. Dorothea was smiling broadly as she gave Edelgard a thumbs up. Caspar, Petra and Ferdinand were silently cheering. Linhardt was observing as he yawned, Bernadetta was shyly hiding behind them as she tried to view everything and Hubert was glaring at professor Byleth.

“My teacher, can we move somewhere more private?” Edelgard asked her, Byleth still apparently oblivious to the other students but agreeing with her the same.

Byleth finished her tea and they both moved back to Byleth’s room. Edelgard made sure no one followed them, gesturing to Dorothea and the group to move away when the professor turned her back to them, still oblivious to their presence.  
There, once the door and windows were closed, Edelgard spoke.

“I wanted to apologize for running away. I panicked, and it was a childish thing to do but I couldn’t control it…I’ve told you about my youth before, haven’t I? I never had the proper time to be a silly teenager with a crush before I came here, nor did I ever have the chance to do the silly romantic things I love so much. And truth be told, professor, I’ve grown to like you...”

Edelgard stopped for a moment, trying to read Byleth’s expression before continuing. But she couldn’t manage to figure her out, and Byleth remained silent. So Edelgard continued.

“I know I shouldn’t have. And I know you can’t return those feelings because you’re a professor. Even if you were forced into your role and you seem to be about the same age as I, I know you must see me as a student. But I cherish the moments you spend with me, our tea times and your gifts, and everything in between. I’ve never had the chance to do any of those before, much less with someone I have feelings for. So I beg of you, if you can put our relationship here at the monastery aside, are you able to tell me if you feel anything at all for me? Can I…can I wait for you? Will you wait for me if I do?”

Byleth stood silent, much to Edelgard’s desperation.

“I assure you my feelings for you are very real” Edelgard tried again, “so please, I won’t think ill of you if you have no interest in me. I just need to know, before I make a fool of myself again and confess my love yet agai-“

Edelgard was interrupted by Byleth suddenly embracing her. Edelgard almost had to pinch herself to make sure she was experiencing reality and that this wasn’t just another sappy dream of hers.

“I’m not good with words, or understanding feelings” Byleth confessed, still holding Edelgard “but…you make me happy. I know I’m oblivious and it’s frustrating, but I promise that I do care a lot about you, in a different way from my students, or my friends. Will you stay by my side and allow me to stay by yours?”

“Yes, of course!” Edelgard smiled “thank you, Byleth.”

~.~.~.~

“Another letter from Edelgard?” Sothis groaned, “that girl sure does spend a lot of ink, doesn’t she? At least her love letters are entertaining…”

“I think they’re beautiful” Byleth replied, as she read the newest letter Edelgard had left in her desk.

“You think everything she does is beautiful” Sothis sighed, crossing her arms.

“I can’t help it…”

“Oh, I know, believe me. To be young and in love, oh, foolish, foolish love…”

Byleth rolled her eyes as Sothis joked.  
Once she finished reading the letter, she carefully folded it again, storing it on a fancy box she kept under her bed.

“I suppose you and that girl are the perfect fit…” Sothis joked. 

Unsurprisingly, Byleth didn’t quite pick up on her sarcasm, and wasted no second asking her what she meant.

“You’re both fools who were mutually pining for each other, and while she was a fool too shy to confess, you were a fool too oblivious to notice! That, and you both have terrible writing…not the handwriting, her handwriting is quite fancy and pretty, unlike your barely legible messes, but those expressions! My goodness! It’s like the girl attended every opera about romantic drama in existence! And you, of course, are too out of touch to realize how terribly sappy and melodramatic they are!”

“I guess we make a good pair indeed then!” Byleth innocently exclaimed, oblivious that Sothis’s words were more of insults rather than praise.

As Byleth grabbed the armored stuffed bear she had recently bought to give to Edelgard and headed out, she could still hear Sothis’s voice;

“At least you’re more entertaining now that you’re a fool who is also in love.”


End file.
